Tama Amisone put the quarter in quarterback Friday night.
The San Jose State commit helped his team to touchdowns in each frame to lead Kapolei over visiting Waianae 28-7 in the season opener for both teams.
Amisone had his struggles, but he is good for at least one spectacular play every 12 minutes and it made the difference in the rivalry battle for the War Club.
This season started with one of those spectacular plays, with Amisone rolling right and seeing Waianae’s safety lose his footing on the natural grass. It was instant death for the Seariders, as Amisone threw a laser down the right sideline to hit Nikko Smith for a 75-yard score. He added a 78-yard touchdown in the third quarter when he zoomed untouched through the line and then zipped past every level of the defense. It all added up to 197 passing yards and 89 on the ground against Waianae’s stiff defense for the player who passed for 2,500 yards and ran for over a thousand last year as a junior.
“He’s done stuff that nobody in prep football history has done,” Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez said. “He is such a dynamic player that he can change the game in a matter of seconds. There’s a lot of great quarterbacks in this league, but I think he stands alone as a dual-threat quarterback.”
Take away Amisone’s two long-distance efforts and Waianae made the Hurricanes work for everything they got.
Kapolei scored on its second drive, with Amisone capping an 11-play march by hitting Zayne Pasion in the corner from 5 yards out for a second score and a 14-0 lead.
Waianae had a golden opportunity at the end of the first half when the snap on Kapolei’s second punt attempt of the night sailed over punter Larry McCarley’s head and gifted the visitors a first down 30 yards from pay dirt with 1:31 left. Vince Nihipali’s boys failed to capitalize, though, as quarterback Maximus Kahalewai-Sapigao responded to a heavy rush by bouncing off one of his own linemen and launching the ball to the goal line. Kapolei defender Jahsyah Kuhi’iki picked it off to end the threat but was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after his celebration.
Nihipali assembled his troops in the end zone to talk about how to keep Amisone under wraps, and it worked until he broke away on the second drive of the third quarter. The Seariders rode a disciplined option and it bore fruit after Amisone’s incredible dash, running the ball on 14 of 16 plays — the throws were both incomplete — to travel 80 yards and punch it in for the first score of the season on an option keep by Kahalewai-Sapigao from 4 yards out. The quarterback ended up running the ball 22 times for 48 yards and running back Alika Adika was 18-for-57. All told, the Seariders ran the ball 52 times for 132 yards.
Waianae is in Division I this season after struggling in the Open and is on its fifth head coach in seven years.
“Overall I am happy with the way the boys played,” Nihipali said. “Their quarterback is exceptional, but we battled and never quit and that’s all I ask the kids. We had our chances.”
Kapolei put the finishing touches on the victory when Amisone found Smith from 25 yards out with 3:55 left to make it 28-7. The touchdowns were Smith’s only catches.
The Hurricanes suffered through a little opening game adrenaline, but now Hernandez will take his crew to Maui to play Lahainaluna next week in what is sure to be an emotional affair. They don’t play at home until the end of September.
“I just told the team that I am never going to be angry or upset after a win,” Hernandez said. “Let me get that straight. But I am not happy with some of our execution and performance in some areas. We were capable of more, but give credit to Waianae — it was a 28-7 score, but it was closer than that. Our guys better be ready to play at 4 p.m. in the sun (at Lahainaluna). They are going to bring it.”
at Kapolei
Waianae 0 0 0 7
Kapolei 7 7 7 7
JV—Waianae 20, Kapolei 19
Kapo: Nikko Smith 75 pass from Tama Amisone (Larry McCarley kick)
Kapo: Zayne Pasion 5 pass from Amisone (McCarley kick)
Kapo: Amisone 78 rush (McCarthy kick)
Maximus Kahalewai-Sapigao 4 rush (Brysen Ferreira kick)
Kapo: Smith 25 pass from Amisone (McCarley kick)
Rushing—Wain: Maximus Kahalewai-Sapigao 22-48, Alika Adika 18-57, David Maxwell 1 -1, Kaipo Lujan 6-21, George Mier 1-0, Anden Gaballo 1-3, Kingston Costales 1- 0, Chevin Kamai-Espinueva 2-4. Kapo: Tama Amisone 6-89, Chazz-Michael Kapahu 6-23, Chase Camarillo 2-10
Passing-Wain: Maximus Kahalewai-Sapigao game 8-15-1-128-3.Meir 0-2-0-0-0. Kapo: Tama Amisone 9-19-0-197.
Receiving-Wain: Hayven Pinson 2-35, David Maxwell 2-26, Jaylum Pelen 3-60, Kaleiohi Slater 1-7. Kapo: Nikko Smith 2 -100, Tristen Inay 1-6, Zayne Pasion 2-35, Kaina Kamohalii 4-56.
